


Silver Bands

by Atomics



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-19
Updated: 2015-03-19
Packaged: 2018-03-18 14:53:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3573794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atomics/pseuds/Atomics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A quick take on things from The Flash's episode 'Out of Time' but with Hartley and David Singh being engaged instead. Warning, this is sort of sad but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Silver Bands

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a suggestion by Maki P 'And you know, if you feel like writing "Out of Time" replacing what's-his-face with Hartley; well, I wouldn't object to that'  
> I hope you find and enjoy this, thank you so much for the prompt!

David felt he was practically glowing. The happiness seeming to have settled deep into his skin and made a home there. It was more than welcome, and it was exhilarating to say the least.  


When he walked into the precinct, he idly wondered how obvious it was. As much as he tried to still act his normal self, this was a work environment not to mention a police station but as soon as he had gotten situated in his office, sitting behind the large wood desk his eyes kept being drawn to the simple yet elegant band sitting contently on his left ring finger.  


Hartley had said yes. His Hartley was now wearing a matching silver band, and while Hart’s had the same designed carved into the metal there, it also had the added bonus of a few small diamonds placed into it as well. David had spent nearly a week with the jeweler to get it perfect, but even that process had been easier than working up the nerve to actually propose. In the end he had decided to wait until their anniversary came along again and he was glad he had. 

_They had spent the day at the beach though it wasn’t exactly swimming weather; it was where they had spent their first official date. Meandering through the venders and eating ice cream though the first time they had been here together, a pigeon had landed right on Hartley’s shoulder, causing the younger man to squeak in surprise before promptly leaving again but not without a less than sanitary reminder of the birds presence left rolling down Hartley’s side.  
_

_David couldn’t believe it, the young former Rathaway heir was livid and really it wasn’t appropriate to laugh but he did and it wasn’t long before Hartley joined him. While to this day you couldn’t hear the story without Hartley cursing that ‘winged rat’ for all it’s worth, the pigeon_ had _successfully broken all first date tension and David knew after supplying his jacket to wear instead that this relationship was something he had wanted to invest in.  
_

_Which is what lead them back to the same beach, walking through the same crowd and nibbling on the same ice cream nearly two years later. Hartley leaning against David in a way that had grown familiar and comforting and David could feel the small box heavy in his pocket._  


_It wasn’t until even later that evening when they were out to dinner that David had brought it out. His own gift from Hartley draped behind him on the chair (a dark, no doubt expensive jacket) when David pulled the box out, hands shaking the slightest amount as he slid down to one knee and hoped for the best._  


_Even if the words he had used were already slipping his mind, he’ll never forget the look on Hartley’s face. The snarky young man lost for words and teary eyed, it had been one of the happiest moments of their lives._

But David was pulled back from his thoughts and peace by an urgent phone call, the morgue practitioner was lying dead just a few floors beneath him.  


  


The rest of the day had passed quickly, no more time to celebrate. Not with one of his own dead and another’s life in serious danger. It was all Singh could do not to yell when exactly what they were dealing with was discovered. Joe was a good man as well as a great detective, but he was stubborn and David knew it. The Mardon brothers a case he had gotten too close to. They had already lost two good people to them and Singh was not about to let Mark Mardon take anymore.  


When he came home that night, a dry cleaners ticket instead of his new jacket and a whole new mess a problems, David was glad to find Hartley there and no sooner than he walked through the doors, in his arms.  


“I heard what happened..David, I’m so sorry.” Hartley pulled the slightly taller man a little closer, running smooth circles across his back.  


They went to bed early that night, Hartley pulled snug against David’s chest and David’s head buried in his fiancés hair. It was still a long while before the police captain was able to close his eyes, thumb running softly over the ring on Hartley finger soothing him to sleep.  


  


**ooOOoo**

  


Hartley couldn’t seem to sit still through practice anymore. He could feel something awful tugging at his subconscious, a nasty feeling he just couldn’t bat away. Everything was fine, it had to be. But he fidgeted and faltered all the same and was glad when it finally came time to take a break.  


He was worried for David, even if he knew he shouldn’t be. Sure, David had a dangerous job, but David was also David. And he always came home. He was too stubborn and determined not to, and he was too good at his job for Hartley to be feeling like this.  


The former scientist nearly jumped when his phone went off and quickly pulled it out of his pocket. It was David’s number and picture on the screen, but when he answered it, it wasn’t David on the phone and Hartley’s heart dropped. 

  


The generic seat under him creaked as Hartley shifted in it, noises of the hospital echoing through his brain. The beeping of different monitoring devices and machines, chattering of nurses with doctors and patients, footsteps scampering about, but of these and more nothing was more grating on Hartley’s nerves than the small tapping of his own foot against the tiled floors. Every time he realized it was in fact him making that particular noise he would stop, only to start up again soon after.  


He shouldn’t be here, this shouldn’t have happened. Hartley shouldn’t be left stewing in this chair in this god forsaken hospital and David.. _oh god, David.._ He buried his face in his hands and felt himself shaking despite his best efforts.  


That was how Detective West had found him. Joe sat down in the chair next to Hartley and placed a tentative hand on his shoulder. He was the only person that David worked with that Hartley had actually met before and even that was brief, but still, Hartley found himself appreciating the small comforting gesture, instead of just pushing it away.  


“He had just proposed...this _isn’t happening_ ” Hartley hated how his voice broke, not much more than a whisper at the end and clutched at his face tighter before taking a deep, shaky breath and moving to sit upright. Joe squeezed the younger man's shoulder and Hartley felt a small surge of relief when there wasn’t pity on his face, just Joe’s own resigned pain and sympathy.  


The detective stood up when a slender brunette walked in, taking long strides to stand in front of the boy. He seemed familiar but Hartley didn’t care to try and place it, instead he gleamed that his name was Barry from their conversation. _Must be Barry Allen then._  


Tired of the chair and sitting back there doing nothing, Hartley stood up and walked over to the two virtual strangers, but when he got closer he realized where exactly he had seen Barry Allen before. It was Barry, _that_ Barry. The Flash, and wow talk about anticlimactic reveals. Hartley found a small part of him wanting to hold onto the brief surprise of unwittingly stumbling across the Flash’s ‘secret identity’.  


When he reached the pair, he saw the panic of recognition in Barry’s eyes but couldn’t bring himself to truly care. Really what could be done at this point?  


“I never imagined this was how I would meet David’s coworkers.” He said lamely, but at least Hartley’s voice was stronger now, even if it sounded nowhere near normal.  


The confusion was obvious on the young vigilante but before he could get any words out, the doctor was there greeting them. Hartley felt his heartbeat pick up and had to make a conscious effort to breathe normally as they were given the news.  


Hartley moved to go into the room; he had to see him for himself, when the doctor stopped him.  


“I’m sorry, but only family is permitted to see him right now. You'll have to wait out here.”  


His whole body stiffened but just before he was able to bark out the scathing remark on the tip of his tongue, Joe intervened. Hartley figured he should be grateful, seeing as no doubt it would have taken much longer to get in if he had handled it on his own. But he wasn’t, and Hartley was again too worked up to care.  


The small room David was in was bleak and depressing, all white walls and wires and machines. David seemed smaller than Hartley knew him to be in the bed. He trailed his hand along the side of the mattress as he slowly walked over to David’s side.  


He was still asleep and probably would be for a while now, but that didn’t matter so much. No what mattered is that his frustratingly heroic fiancé was still alive, and really who jumped in front of lightning bolts? A painful chuckle worked its way through Hartley’s mouth as he sat in the small seat next to the bed, dragging it a bit closer and setting his shoulder bag on the ground by his feet. He reached forward and grabbed one of David’s hands in his and was glad for the small warmth he found in it. The matching silver band on David’s finger caught the light and Hartley couldn’t hold back his tears any longer.


End file.
